English Heritage declines to buy Ripon’s ‘Stonehenge of the North’English Heritage has declined to buy a section of Thornborough Henges near Ripon after talks with the landowner broke down.
The cluster of Neolithic monuments above the River Ure consists of three large circular henges that have been described as the Stonehenge of the North. They date back 4,500 years.
The northerly henge is currently on the market for £200,000.
Knight Frank, which is selling the freehold of the land on behalf of owner Richard Bourne-Arton, described it as a “unique opportunity”.
However, English Heritage, which currently manages the central and southern sections of the henge, confirmed that it has decided against purchasing the land.
It said part of the decision was because the site was in better condition than the other two, which were added to Historic England’s heritage at risk register in 2009.
The northern section of Thornborough Henges, which is being marketed by Knight Frank.
The charity added in a statement that it also had “limited resources” to be able to go-ahead with the purchase.
A spokesperson for English Heritage said:
“Of the three henges, the northern henge is the best preserved (it is not on the Heritage at Risk register) and it has recently come up for sale.
“However, English Heritage is a charity with more than 400 sites to care for – the vast majority of which are like Thornborough, free-to-enter but not free-to-maintain – and we have limited resources.”
The move comes after the remaining two sections of the monument were gifted to the public free of charge in February.
Read more:
Historic England has described the Neolithic site as “probably the most important single ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands in Scotland”.
The three large circular earthworks are each more than 100 metres in diameter.
Construction firms Tarmac and Lightwater Holdings gifted the site into the legal ownership of Historic England, which is a non-departmental public body, although it is managed by the charity English Heritage.
The site is located near West Tanfield, between Ripon and Masham, just outside the Harrogate district.
New housing scheme proposed in RiponA developer has submitted plans to build 14 new homes in Ripon.
Manchester-based Atzaro Box Clever Ltd has tabled the proposal to North Yorkshire Council for land off Athelstan Court.
It would see 14 new home build on land next to a former office building.
The office block, which stood empty for 10 years, has since had approval to be converted into 16 flats.
Designs for the new houses on Athelstan Court.
In documents submitted to the council, the developer said the move to build the new homes would be a “natural extension” to the newly approved flats.
It said:
“The council have since accepted a change of use for the conversion of Athelstan Court into residential apartments.
“The remainder of the site would therefore be a natural extension of the residential use across the full site.”
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
Read more:
Photo of the Week: Newby HallThis week’s photograph was taken by Christiane Gul, Showcasing the gardens leading up to Newby Hall.
Christiane Gul
Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.
Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.
Sneak peek: Transformed Harrogate hotel to re-open on MondayA new chapter in the history of one of Harrogate’s most famous hotels will begin on Monday when it reopens with a new name and completely fresh look.
The Harrogate Inn, formerly known as the St George Hotel, is one of three major local hotels to have undergone multi-million pound renovations by the Inn Collection Group.
Ripon Spa Hotel and Dower House will re-open shortly under new names the Ripon Inn and the Knaresborough Inn.
The Harrogate Inn has a new main entrance on Crescent Gardens that leads into a bar called the Barking George — a nod to its former name.
Visitors will walk into the Barking George bar.
The adjoining area, which used to serve food to hotel guests, has been transformed into a food and beverage area called Stray Away, which the owners hope will become a destination for local people.
It will serve breakfasts, morning and afternoon teas and coffees, lunches and evening meals in the hope of attracting customers for 18 hours a day. It also has a separate Sunday menu.
Six new ground floor suites have increased the number of rooms from 90 to 96.
One of the new suites.
The outdoor terrace has been redeveloped and the Ripon Road entrance will lead to another smaller bar. The existing rooms have undergone only minor changes.
An Inn Collection Group spokesman said:
“The reason we pitch ourselves as inns rather than hotels is because we make the space work from breakfast to night.
“It’s a new place to come and eat and drink. We want it to become a destination for locals to enjoy as much as hotel guests. Ultimately, that’s what will make us successful rather than just relying on high season visitors.”
Andrew Robson, senior communications and marketing executive and Louise Stewart, property director at the Inn Collection Group outside the Harrogate Inn.
The Newcastle-based Inn Collection Group has 32 venues in northern England, including eight in North Yorkshire.
Henry White, who previously managed the company’s Commissioners Quay in Blyth, has been appointed general manager.
The new name is displayed.
It will be the first of three local Inn Collection Group properties to reopen this summer.
The Knaresborough Inn — formerly the Dower House — is scheduled to reopen on August 20. It will have 57 rooms, compared with 41 previously, largely due to the closure of the spa.
The reopening of the Ripon Inn — formerly Ripon Spa Hotel — was scheduled for August 20 but may not happen until early September. The number of rooms will increase from 41 to 57.
The domed roof remains.
Read more:
Council still working towards sale of historic Ripon Spa BathsNorth Yorkshire Council has said it’s still working towards a sale of Ripon’s historic Spa Baths — almost two years after a preferred bidder was chosen.
The Grade II-listed baths was the last of its kind to open in England but was put on the market by the now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council due to the construction of the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lanes.
After 117 years of service to Ripon, the baths closed for good in November 2021.
A year earlier in October 2021, Ripon-based Sterne Properties was selected as the preferred bidder by Harrogate Borough Council but a deal had not been struck by the time North Yorkshire Council took over the process in April this year.
Sterne Properties has plans to strip out the building to create a new hospitality facility for the city.
Ripon City Council nominated the baths as an asset of community value which gave it a window to make a bid but council leader Andrew Williams said it could end up being “very complicated and very risky financially” so it backed the Sterne Properties proposals instead.
Read more:
North Yorkshire Council declined to say why the process is taking so long and how much the proposed sale was worth when asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
But the baths were previously put up for sale by Harrogate Borough Council in 2008 with a £3.3m price tag. It was later withdrawn following a community campaign.
North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of resources, Gary Fielding, said:
“Sterne Properties Ltd was selected as the preferred purchaser for this vacant asset because of its positive plans for the future of the former Ripon Spa Baths site.
“We are continuing to work constructively with Sterne Properties to complete the purchase.
“As it is a commercial transaction, the value and terms of the purchase remain confidential.”
Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams joins Tory allianceRipon Independent councillor Andrew Williams has formed a political alliance with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council.
Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to become members of a new Conservatives and Independents Group, which was announced today.
The Stray Ferret reported yesterday the Conservatives were wooing independents to maintain their grip on power. This month’s defection of Cllr Mike Jordan left them with precisely half of 90 seats on the council.
A statement by the Conservatives this morning said the party had been reaching out to other members in the wake of Cllr Jordan’s defection “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council for the benefit of its residents”.
Cllr Carl Les
Carl Les, the Conservative council leader, said:
“Each of them have put stable and sensible decision-making at the top of their agenda since the elections last May, and as such we have agreed a common purpose.
“It is important that following local government reorganisation our staff feel secure in a well managed authority with clear policies in place.
“We will work together to achieve the sustainable and stable political direction this authority deserves, as indeed we have from last May.”
Cllr Williams was elected to North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes, ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, who received 334 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.
The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.
(from left): Cllrs Heseltine, Williams and Goodrick
Cllr Williams is one of nine members of an Independents group. The other two to join are unaffiliated independents.
It is unclear the extent to which they will collaborate with the Tories.
Today’s statement said all three will continue to serve as independents.
However, the group is widely regarded as a way of shoring up support to the Conservatives in the period until the next North Yorkshire elections in 2028.
The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Cllr Williams for further details of the arrangement.
Read more:
Student’s floral design becomes reality in Ripon Spa GardensA Ripon student’s floral design has been turned into reality at the city’s Spa Gardens.
Evie Wood, 17, won a competition open to schools across the Harrogate district to design a floral tribute to King Charles III.
It was organised by the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council in conjunction with local In Bloom groups.
The winning Ripon entry was assessed by the council parks team and Ripon in Bloom.
Evie’s design in Spa Gardens
Ripon Grammar School pupil Evie has now seen her winning entry translated from paper to flowerbed by the council’s parks team.
Evie, who plans to take a degree in fine art, said:
“I am very interested in the design side of gardening.
“I knew the flowers that I wanted to incorporate and the colours I wanted to use and so I just went from there really. It was so nice to see the flower bed I designed come to life as I didn’t expect it to, so it was a really nice surprise!”
Read more:
£3.5 million remediation work underway at Ripon leisure centre
Remediation works costing £3.5 million are underway at the Ripon leisure centre building which closed in late April.
North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for culture, leisure, archives and libraries, Jo Ireland, said:
“We can confirm the ground stabilisation works at the former Ripon Leisure Centre have now started.”
Hoardings and fencing have been put in place around the 28 year old leisure centre building.
He added:
“These works came about following the discovery of a void underneath part of the original leisure centre.
“The void is understood to have been present for a number of years and was discovered when the reinforced concrete slab, which provides the foundation for the new swimming pool, was cast.
“By addressing these historic issues, it allows us the opportunity to ensure future generations will be able to access modern sport and leisure facilities in their city for many years to come.
“Once the works have been completed the original leisure centre facility can be refurbished as planned – which includes an extended gym, two new activity studios, a spin studio as well as meeting facilities – and complement the 25 metre, six-lane swimming pool that opened last year.”
Work is scheduled to go on until spring 2024 and in the meantime a temporary gym will remain in use on the car park near the entrance to the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre.
The £300,000 facility, operated by Brimhams Active on behalf of North Yorkshire Council, includes Technogym equipment.
Customers are able to use the changing and shower facilities at the swimming pool as well as the sauna and steam suite. Group exercise classes continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.
Read more:
After 18 months, still no progress on Ripon LidlEighteen months on since planning permission was ratified for a Ripon Lidl, there is still no sign of work starting.
Lidl submitted a planning application in May 2021 and it was approved on Christmas Eve of the same year.
The company ran a public consultation on the scheme, which involves opening a 1,250 square metre store at St Michael’s Park, Rotary Way.
It would be located near the existing M&S Foodhall and create up to 40 jobs
In its planning application, Lidl said the site was ideal:
“Lidl has a commitment to secure representation in Ripon and has been searching for suitable premises for a number of years. The nearest Lidl food stores are located some distance away in Knaresborough, Thirsk and Northallerton.”
However, there is no sign of the store opening. This is despite the planning documents saying Lidl hoped that 2022 would be the “first full and settled trading year for the new store”.
The Stray Ferret is regularly asked by readers for an update on what would be the town’s first Lidl.
As today marks 18 months since the plans were signed off, we contacted the company to find out more about its plans.
But as with our previous request for an update in April, did not receive a response.
Read more:
Ripon car rally set for 9am start from Market PlaceRipon Motorsport Club is inviting the public to join them on a drive, with the chance to view some classic cars.
The club is best known for the Riponian Stages Rally and the St Wilfrid’s Road Rally.
The stages has been running since 1986 on February 12 and consist of several timed stages. St Wilfrid’s is held on August 6 and runs for almost 150 miles stretching across the Vale of York and the Yorkshire Moors.
The historic cars will start in Ripon Market Place tomorrow at 9am. Among the cars expected to attend are classic Ford Escorts, Minis and Mercedes.
Club members plan to drive through the Vale of York before reaching the NY500 motoring cafe near Pickering around 11:30am.
The club has encouraged the public to join them either on the drive or at the start and end destinations. There will be opportunities for members of the public to be shown round the cars.
Read more: